Not a Happy Sweep

Thursday 13:00 Chimney sweep master phones
CS: Can I come now?
Me::No
CS: ??Tomorrow?.10ish, let's say 10:30. Are you sure I can't come now?
Me: Yes
CS: Then junior will have to do it alone. Are you sure can't come now?
Me: Yes


Friday 8:48 am

While drinking wake up coffee, spot Junior leave our locked gate drive entrance, heading back for the village. Worse, our doorbell not working as electricity turned off due to thunderstorm last night.


10:31
At one minute past agreed time, he returns. Now 32°C, he's nerved not being allowed to come yesterday, coming twice today & now working so late on a Friday. Does Central Heating outside chimney in the shade & indoors where it's a bit cooler, the flues & calmed down a bit.


Goes to do sitting room chimney from inside. Opens trap door but shuts it straight away as soot flying around. Apparently in hot weather, the atmosphere pushes soot down or up, I didn't understand. "Damn have to go up on roof, I wanted to avoid that". Grumpy again! No wonder given the very heavy clothing they wear.


Gets ladder off car roof & climbs onto nice new shiny slippery roof, clearly not enjoying 40°C & like me no friend of heights. Coming down, he crawled down on his backside. Goes back inside, opens hatch, goes in with shovel to clear ash and a young bird flies out! The bird had caused the soot to fly around, not atmospheric pressure. The roof cleaning was not necessary.


Now really annoyed & sweating like a pig, sits in car & says not very convincingly 'Auf Wiedersehen'  followed with in a second by "Oh S**t" (very common swearword in Germany. He had forgotten the 4-yearly inspection of wood fireplace was due and added to that the paperwork for it was all in the bosses car. Goes into house & inspects fireplace millimeter by millimetre, even testing moisture of logs lying alongside, something never witnessed in 32 years! He was determined to find something. The moisture limit for wood is 20% ours was 11%. That finally ended his day.


Lessons:

 1) German trades people ALWAYS come too early.
 2) Let the chimney sweep come whenever he likes, regardless how inconvenient. He has strong legal powers and is able to shut you down & generally inspect the house if he suspects there is an unregistered fireplace.
3) Never Fridays after 10 am.


We know Master Sweep well, Angie sits naked next to him weekly in the Sauna! Junior is also a good guy, normally. We are all entitled to off days.